Healthy Eating Boosts Immunity during Old Age: Study

Eat healthy to boost your immunity and ward off risk of deadly diseases, advises a study.

Scientists from the University College, London, found healthy and nutritious diet plays a vital role in strengthening body's defense mechanism during old age and helps keep diseases and infections at bay.

 Their research looked at  aged-induced effects on immune cells called 'T lymphocytes',  solely managed by specific molecule 'p38 MAPK'. The P38 MAPK can block certain cellular functions that affect our body's  ability to fight against diseases and infection causing bacteria.

The study noted this molecule became active when the nutrients in blood diminished along with senescence or aging of body cells. A healthy and balanced diet serves as a p32 MAPK inhibitor and restores functioning of T lymphocytes.

"It has been suspected for a long time that nutrition, metabolism and immunity are linked and this paper provides a prototype mechanism of how nutrient and senescence signals converge to regulate the function of T-lymphocytes," said Arne Akbar, study author and professor at the University College, London, reports the Business Standard.

Following this trial, the authors examined the effects of suppressing p38 MAPK molecules and noticed it reversed cells that had undergone subtle aging process.

They believe the findings of both studies confirm the benefits of eating right in stalling diseases and conditions that typically occur in old age. They add a healthy diet is a safer and better option to boost immunity than taking medications and drugs.

More information is available online in the journals Nature Immunology and Journal of Clinical Investigation.